Found I had high-risk HPV during the first year of grad school. I was just a couple of years too old for the vaccine when it started being publicized. Got it from a long-term partner. Had the biopsy, the colposcopy, the whole bit. All the while, the stigma was such that my own dad was ashamed I had a, in his words,…

Haircut chick has decent pitch.

You posted this at 4:20.

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding last December where the brides (yes, brides, it was in Seattle) established a travel fund for the two bridesmaids coming from long distances - myself and the poor girl who had to fly from Houston. It was a great idea, copiously appreciated, and made me love these people even more. A…

Winced a little bit to see one of my alma maters - the University of Idaho - on this list. Then again, this case came out of that school:

https://chronicle.com/article/Handli…

Yes, including a Gawker editor.

http://gawker.com/do-not-give-a-…

Yeah, the suit is definitely a giant fuck-you. It was dumb of those guys to be riding at night with no way to be seen - no doubt. But I'll never understand the mental gymnastics people do to rationalize killing cyclists. This woman left no doubt that she thinks cyclists "shouldn't count" when you murder one, and her…

So a buddy was heading overseas to study abroad and a going-away party was thrown in her honor. I went, had some chemistry with a good-looking gentleman, alcohol was consumed, we decided to head back to this place for shenanigans. The guy I left with was actually the on-again, off-again friend with benefits of a…

Great read! And yup, the lackey is basically saying, "Well, if only they weren't so easy to kill!" The "She was asking for it" of worker exploitation.

Beautiful dog, amazing story, but I'm more hung up on the "ravens will peck out your eyeballs in Alaska" bit from the linked article.

This is my favorite thing I've read all week. I love Rent, but oh my can it get insufferably annoying. Ya know, it is based on an Italian opera (La Boheme) about beautiful artist types dying from tuberculosis. If you want irritating stories about horrible people, opera is where it's at. No one ever busts out a good…

When I'm sick with chest congestion gunk and/or sore throat, I live on popsicles and spicy Shin Ramyun. Anecdotally, those two things in tandem make me feel better.

And we live in the era of Autotune, which obscures that even more. Whitney had the kind of ears that make Autotune irrelevant.

Her pitch is absolutely flawless. Very, very few pop singers can boast that.

Starbuck is my power animal.

Indeed. This handsome gentleman was a rescue. He is ornery as hell but he is the sweetest guy I know.

I believe Jeff Orr. Just like I believe Kim Jong-Il shot 18 holes in one and bowled a 300 in the same day.

Totally. I appreciate the amusing righteous indignation but I'd also love to smack the shit out of her. (I'm a lady, it would be a fair fight.)

Judgmental finger pointing lady is awesome.

Be that as it may, music isn't made in a vacuum. Music carries pretty substantial cultural baggage around with it. Reducing everything about music to nothing but notes is ignoring the reality that music has meaning and is shaped by cultures that make it. Music signifies. It reflects the world around it, and it can and…